The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1887-06-30

AS@
rufled night-dress and a similar state
Of mind:
..You Thomas Gordon Briggs-come
inter the house this instant minnitr"
Thomas Gordon Briggs giggied con-
vulsively, but made no reply. A mo-
mentary silence was broken by
loud whispering, and then came
the clatter of retreating boot
heels along the sidewalk. Mrs.
Briggs returned to bed, while
Brown, with every nerve at a tension,
laid his head back on the pillow,
slowly trying TO persuade himself that
the entertainment was over.
Alas, it had but begun, and he had
been listening to the opening chorus.
Headed by irrepressible Tommy, re-
lays Of boys invaded the sanctity of the
church, and from midnight till dawn
the clangor of the Methodist bell was
profusely punctuated with the popping
of firearms and shouts of hilarious ju-
veniles.
Mr.. Browns savage glare across the
breakfast table on the following morn
ing was in marked contrast to Tommy
Briggs look of artless candor, and the
slightly mischievous smile which
lowered shout Miss Vanvarre's lips as
she nodded a cool response to his W
curt greeting.
The Widow Briggs hoped. as she
poured out the matutinal coffee, that
Mr.. Brown slept tolerably well. MI.
Browns reply, both short and snappy.
caused Miss Vanvarre to open her
violet eyes rather wider than usual.
And the widow detecting her son, who
was OF the verge of a glggle. in the act
of winking f~acetiously at Miss Doris
over the rim of his cup, led him chok-
ing and gasping from the table by the
lobe of his a
After breakfast Mr.. Brown betook
himself to a seat on the piazza. where,
in gloomy silence, he listened to the
irritating popping of an inexhaustible
supply of fire-crackers exploded by
Master Briggs, aided and abetted. as
nearly as he could judge, by Miss Van
varre, who swung indolently in her
hammock behind a leafy screen not
very far away.
But the hre-crackers lost their
charm, and after dinner Tommy, great
ly to Mr.. Browns relief, betook HIM
self to the village-green. Miss Van
varre also had disappeared. The
Widow Briggs guessed she'd gone
down to the pond after lilies. And,
curiously enough, it suddenly occurred
to Brown that in the peaceful shores
Of Timson's pond, far from the mad
dening crowd of Wayback juveniles.
he could commune with nature alone.
"She isn't here, after all" he grum-
bled, as after a somewhat hurried walk
through an orchard of gnarled apple
trees he reached the shady shore of the
miniature lake.
Possibly .'she'' was a reference to
nature Yet the eagerly e~xpectant
gaze which he sent in every direction.
would seem to suggest something more
than the observance of a mere imper-
sonality.
In the middle of the circular sheet
of blue over which the trees bent low
ingly, as though admiring the pictured
reflection of their shapely limbs, was
a miniature island belted about with
lily pads whose green was spotted at
frequent intervals by white blossoms.
On the island shore stood Miss Van
varre, close to a clumsy, 1at-bottomed
skiff belonging TO Tommy Briggs.
Seeing Brown in the distance, the
young lady waved her handkerchief
high in the air.
ga flag of truce" murmured Mr..
Brown, "but what"
"I-have-no-oars," called the fair
exile, and Brown grasped the situation
ut once. Miss Vanvarre had probably
pushed out in the oarless boat as far
as the fringing lily pads and been
drifted by the gentle breeze to the ISL
and shorei
After the manner of most imagina-
tive lovers, Brown had burned for an
opportunity of distinguishing himself
in the sight Of the object of his at
lection, and here was a chance. True,
Miss Vanvarrc was not in peril, but
most assuredly she was in distress.
There wa nc other boat on the pond,
which itself was known to be of fabu-
lous depth, and a raft was beyond his
constructive powers.
ALI these thoughts passed rapidly
through the young mans mind,
as, rapidly divesting himself of his
light serge coat and vest, hat and
shoes, Mr.. Brown, who in his best
estate was not only afairly good swim
mer, but something of an athlete as
well, entered the water, which was un.
pleasantly cool by reason of its depth,
and struck boldly out for the island,
nearly an eighth of a mile away, where
a Acknowledgement Hero awaited the
coming of a scantily-attired Leander.
"Mr. Brown, how could you be So
foolish" was the salutation which
reached his ears as he began striking
right and left to force his way through
the of lily pads whose prensile
stems, twining themselves about his
limbs, suddenly began dragging him
under with resistless force.
my God" he i%nvoluntarily ex.
claimed, and to her horror Miss Van.
varre saw his pale face disappear un-
der the lily leaves, not ten feet away!
Springing into the skiff she pushed il
toward the spot just in time to GRASP
in her own the hand he had thurst con.
vulsively to the surface. In another
moment, dripping like a river god and
crowned as to his head with pickere.
weed, Mr.. Brown was sitting in the
boats bottom gasping for breath, while
Miss V~anvarre. pale, but composed, sal
on one of tho thwarts steadfastly re-
garding him.
Miss Vanvarre-Doris," he finally
said, in a rather agitated voice, II owe
you my life. and if the devotion of a.
"W-h-G-n-g!"
A daafaninn ranort in close nroYim,